FIGURE 14. One
of several views
from within the
Mission Planner
software.

bounces and then a few circles.
There was no problem with the flight
controls or the real time data
streaming into
my laptop.The next day with the sun
shining and with several fully
charged LiPos in tow, I brought the
system to a park for a few test runs.
The board performed superbly. I had
to reduce the sensitivity of the
system so that it performed well in
modest wind.

The procedure took all of five
minutes — on site — using the menu
system within the Mission Planner
software. I didn't test the full one
mile range of the telemetry system,
but it worked flawlessly at about a
quarter mile radius — the maximum
distance I was comfortable with
flying the craft manually.

Waypoints

finished setting up the ArduPilot and quadcopter frame, it
was pouring down rain outside. So, I tried the quadcopter
in my bedroom. At first, I held the copter overhead while
an assistant armed and then worked the controls. After I
was certain the craft responded as it should have, I dipped
and rotated the craft, paying attention to the motors
working to stabilize it.

When I was satisfied with that, I disarmed the copter
and placed it on the bed. I had the craft make a few short

Figure 16 shows the Waypoints interface to the
Mission Planner software. Setting waypoints is as simple as
zooming into a place on Google Maps, then defining a
flight path with a few clicks of your mouse. In this
example, I zoomed in on Boston's Fenway Park, with a
flyover that surveyed most of the field. In theory, I could
launch my quadcopter outside the ballpark, have it hop
over the bleachers, make the rounds, perhaps loiter over
home base for effect, and then exit
over the top of the bleachers. Of
course, after doing so, I'd be writing
reviews by hand on tissue paper in a
cell.

Although the forums are full of
accounts of waypoint success stories,
I didn't check out this function firsthand. The new external GPS receiver
designed to plug into the ArduPilot
wasn't available at the time of my
review. Even so, the Mission Planner
software interface was fascinating
and solid. Obviously, I have a GPS
on order.

Closing Thoughts

FIGURE 15. Raw sensor
output data.

In short, the new ArduPilot is a
winner. The feature-packed hardware
leverages a fantastic piece of freely
available software, and has a strong
user base and active forum behind it.